Species profile
Fragile Barnacle
Chthamalus fragilis
At a glance
Fragile Barnacle (Chthamalus fragilis) is a barnacle present across the CatchRules coverage area but without species-specific bag, size, or season rules tracked in our regulatory dataset.
Confirmed by 328 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina the top jurisdictions by observation count.
Notable details
- Fragile barnacles live in the extreme high intertidal zone, surviving hours out of water daily.
- Their relatively thin shells compared to other barnacle species inspired their common name.
- They range from Virginia south through Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico.
- Despite their appearance, barnacles are crustaceans closely related to crabs and shrimp.
- They feed by extending feathery legs to filter plankton during each high tide.
Where Fragile Barnacle are seen
Background
Chthamalus fragilis is a small gray barnacle found in the upper intertidal zone of the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, from approximately Cape Cod southward to Florida and into the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. It is also commonly known as little grey barnacle. The species is believed to have been distributed only as far northward as North Carolina or Virginia until the late 1800s, when it was…
Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Fragile Barnacle article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.
Other barnacles on CatchRules
Photo credit: iNaturalist / Wikipedia. Identification reference only — verify regulations with the issuing wildlife agency before retaining a catch.